Monitoring of the issuing of A1 documents for posted workers

Subject: Monitoring of the issuing of A1 documents for posted workers

Posted workers remain affiliated to the social security system of the country where they normally work.

If a worker is posted to another EU Member State by his or her employer, the social security authorities must be informed and an A1 document must be applied for. This document is then valid at home and abroad as proof of affiliation to the social security system in the habitual Member State of employment. In this way, gaps in the worker’s coverage and payment of double contributions by the employer are avoided.

The Member State to which the worker is posted is required to check whether the worker in question is indeed in possession of an A1 document. These checks are further facilitated by the European Labour Authority. The issuing of the A1 document is an exclusive competence of the Member State from which the worker is posted. Nevertheless, a recent Eurofound report 1 revealed that the conditions applicable to posting are not thoroughly checked by all Member States before an A1 document is issued.

1. Can the Commission indicate which national or European authorities are responsible for monitoring the correct issuing of A1 documents?

2. How does the Commission monitor the correct issuing of A1 documents? Has the Commission carried out a review in this regard in the context of the revision of the Social Security Coordination Regulation?

1 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_publication/field_ef_document/ef19054en.pdf

Answer given by Mr Schmit on behalf of the European Commission

(29 April 2020)

A list of national competent institutions responsible for issuing the Portable Document (PD) A1 is available onlin e (2). These institutions are primarily responsible to ensure that the conditions for issuing a PD A1 are satisfied in accordance with the rules on the coordination of social security systems. In particular, this includes the verification by the competent institution that the conditions, stipulated in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 (3) and Articles 14 and 15 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 (4), are fulfilled. To assist Member States in the uniform interpretation of Article 12, the Administrative Commission for the coordination of social security systems has issued a decision (5) as well as a recommendation (6) concerning the issuance of the PD A1.

In 2016, the Commission launched a proposal to revise Regulations (EC) No 883/2004 and 987/2009 (7). In the course of the legislative process, a provisional agreement was reached between the co-legislators in March 2019 (8) on parts of the regulations. One issue covered by this provisional agreement concerns the empowerment of the Commission to adopt implementing acts to establish standard procedures, including on the elements to be verified before the PD A1 can be issued. The legislative process is still ongoing (9). The standard procedures, established by the Commission, would ensure that the relevant conditions for the PD A1 are thoroughly verified by all Member States, in a uniform manner. This should also lead to further transparency for employers and mobile workers as regards the format and requirements for documents to be submitted when requesting a PD A1.

⋅1∙ https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_publication/field_ef_document/ef19054en.pdf

⋅2∙ https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/social-security-forms/contact_points_pd_a1.pdf

⋅3∙ Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems OJ L 166, 30.4.2004,

p. 1.

⋅4∙ Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC)

No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems OJ L 284, 30.10.2009, p. 1‐42. ⋅5∙ Decision No A2 of 12 June 2009 concerning the interpretation of Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the

legislation applicable to posted workers and self-employed workers temporarily working outside the competent State OJ C 106, 24.4.2010, p. 5‐8. ⋅6∙ Recommendation No A1 of 18 October 2017 concerning the issuance of the attestation referred to in Article 19(2) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European

Parliament and of the Council OJ C 183, 29.5.2018, p. 5‐14.

⋅7∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52016PC0815

⋅8∙ https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-7698-2019-ADD-1-REV-1/en/pdf

⋅9∙ https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?reference=2016/0397(COD)&l=en